U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John H. Stanford (September 14, 1938 – November 28, 1998) grew up poor, failed sixth-grade but went on to graduate from Penn State University on an ROTC scholarship. He survived multiple military tours in both Korea and Vietnam and was highly decorated. The loyalty of his troops was extraordinary.

Lying in bed, head on the pillow. Cozy. I'm dreaming there are raindrops outside. It feel so nice. Alarm goes off. "Ten more minutes please" I say to myself. I hit the snooze button and snuggle back in. Ten minutes goes by fast. Alarm goes off once again.

At the closing ceremony of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, the chief executive officer of the Olympics Committee said to the athletes, “You have captured our hearts and filled our memories. You have broken world records and you even established personal best.” Looking over his shoulder at the competitors of 57 countries, he continued “Some of you… have even soared like an eagle.”

At the mention of English ski jumper Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, 60,000 voices in McMahon stadium roared like one.

28 years later, the Eagle is still soaring and will continue to capture the hearts of the people. Eddie’s legacy was cemented in the annals of Olympic history for inspiring people of his relentless attitude, and undying spirit to compete. By the way, Eddie was the goat of the ski jumping events. Yes, that was not a typo, Eddie did not win any medals at all.

Lips blue and hands shaking beyond control, Carl Brashear struggled to find the next step up the metal ladder on the side of the pier. Finally, he made it to the top and staggered toward a bench. But beneath the weight of a 200-pound brass diving suit, his legs were no longer strong enough to hold him. He collapsed, barely conscious.

“Rule #2 is break the rules so I chose to break rule #4, which is work my butt off. Now I am lying in bed eating nachos and watching motivational videos” was one of the comments from You-tube viewer of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 6 Rules of Success which I almost fell out from my chair laughing out loud.

Another comment was Arnold was given a speech to read. One viewer questioned, “How do I know he's not giving me the wrong advice?”
To answer that question is to look at Arnold’s life.

Race2Recovery team members with their Land Rover support vehicles on arrival in Rosario, Argentina [Picture: Copyright Francois Flamand, DPPI]
Success isn’t given; it’s earned, on the track, on the field, in the gym. With the blood, sweat and the occasional tears.’